LAS VEGAS, NV – October 11, 2023
Today, Governor Joe Lombardo announced his plan to transform the Nevada Public Option into a Market Stabilization Program. The plan will bring greater stability to Nevada’s individual market for health insurance by reinvesting 1332 waiver funds back into the marketplace and provider system.
The State’s new approach follows Governor Lombardo’s commitment in his State of the State remarks to “substantially revise” the Nevada Public Option, so as to better address existing issues within the state healthcare system and the public option plan.
The State intends to accomplish this new market stabilization plan by utilizing the federal funds made available through the State’s federal 1332 waiver application to:
- Finance a reinsurance program for all health insurers operating in the individual market
- Establish a new quality incentive payment program to reward high-performing insurers that offer public option plans and meet certain metrics or quality indicators
- Fund new initiatives designed to increase the state’s health care workforce capacity to improve access and lower the cost of health care by addressing the imbalance between provider supply and demand
“My plan to use these new federal funds to support our state’s healthcare infrastructure and workforce will help offset the instability created by the public option,” said Governor Joe Lombardo. “Reinsurance is a proven method of protecting consumers and will help Nevadans avoid the higher costs of insurance they would face through the cost-shifts driven by the public option.”
A Nevada Department of Health and Human Services memo on the reimagined Nevada Public Option is attached.
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